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A strange tale of Frank Sinatra Jr., monster beach parties, Jan & Dean and a bungled kidnapping!
03.18.2016
11:38 am
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When I heard the news of the passing of Frank Sinatra Jr., my first thought was of his little known theme music for the cult beach party meets monster flick The Beach Girls and The Monster. A totally crazy crossover teen exploitation film (which interestingly was edited by sexploitation and adult film groundbreaker Radley Metzger) that was made in 1964 before the Beatles and the British Invasion completely crushed US surf culture for good. Sinatra Jr.‘s bizarrely inept vocalizing over the great surf track by members of the Hustlers—known for their rare singles “Kopout,” “Inertia” and “Wailin’ Out”—reeks of a rush job, which, of course, makes the record all that much more special to crazy collectors like myself. I believe the record was a movie promo only and it is extremely rare and sought after. It took me 20 years to find my copy and it was not cheap. In fact it is the only record little Frankie S. ever made that has any kind of collectible value whatsoever.

To quote Brian Chidester and Domenic Priore from their book Pop Surf Culture the soundtrack of The Beach Girls and the Monster:

“has got to rank up there among the best … no fewer than 13 different sections of full-bore, deep-reverb tank surf instrumentals throb the soundtrack.

 
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Here’s the song in all of its glory from the opening of the film:
 

 
The fact that Sinatra Jr. went anywhere near a beach or rock ‘n’ roll music in 1964 is pretty amazing considering what happened to him at the end of 1963, a scenario of near Mansonesque proportions: On December 8th, 1963 Frank Sinatra Jr. was kidnapped at gunpoint from a motel room at Harrah’s Club at Lake Tahoe, where he was performing a string of dates. You must remember this was only around a month after the assassination of President Kennedy, and the live TV murder of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby. People were FREAKING. American was coming apart at the seams, ir seemed.
 
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This was not a simple story as you are about to see. This gets so, well, Mansonesque! Not nearly as bloody, fatal or psychotic, sure, but it was certainly a trial run for all the weird 60s celebrity insanity that followed. To quote the Jan and Dean website:

By October 1963, Barry Keenan was only 23 years old, but was down and feeling sorry for himself. The University High School graduate was from a broken home, already divorced, a failed salesman, and had dabbled in the stock market without sustained success. Keenan also had a criminal record, with previous arrests for burglary and petty theft. On top of everything else, he was abusing prescription medication, and saw himself as facing financial ruin. He began to feel desperate, allowing his drug-addled mind to hatch a wild scheme to kidnap the son and namesake of Hollywood royalty — Frank Sinatra Jr.

When you have a problem, even if you’re delusional, you ask your friends for help. So Keenan approached his best friend and laid his cards on the table — calculated, efficient, with a detailed plan in writing, and a request for money to get things started. Barry was a clever fellow, and reveled in having friends (or at least a friend) in high places.

Barry Keenan’s best friend on earth was none other than Dean Torrence, “Dean” of Jan and Dean, who at that time was at the height of their superstardom with hits galore, riding the surf, skate and hot rodding fads all the way to the bank, just behind the Beach Boys in California dreamin’ popularity. Jan and Dean had a number one hit with “Surf City”, their “Honolulu Lulu” went top ten and “The Little Old Lady (From Pasadena)” was not far behind. Somehow Barry Keenan got his buddy Dean to bankroll the kidnapping!

It was carried out by Keenan with a couple of friends from Uni High, the infamous school attended by everyone from Nancy Sinatra, David Cassidy, Marilyn Monroe to Kim Fowley. Their squeaky clean surfer boy next door image makes it so hard to believe but then again, hey, the Manson family hung out with The Beach Boys and they even did one of Charlie’s songs! It’s the squeaky (not Fromme) clean ones you gotta watch out for.
 
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After much confusion and bungling, Keenan seemed to have pulled off the perfect crime. That is until he bragged about it, which led to his arrest. (It’s a long and bizarre story with endless twists and turns which can be read here). Keenan and his other accomplices were caught. A great Don Rickles joke from this time goes:

Do you know why the kidnappers let Junior go? Because they heard him humming in the trunk.

This, it seems, would be indicative of the treatment Junior would get from the world for the rest of his life. Many of the reasons are due to what happened at the trial.
 
Keep reading after the jump…

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Posted by Howie Pyro
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03.18.2016
11:38 am
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Neil Hamburger presents A Tribute to Frank Sinatra, Jr.
01.09.2010
09:31 pm
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Sunday night at the Silent Movie Theater in Los Angles, Cinefamily has invited showbiz great Neil Hamburger to pay tribute to one of heroes. Read on:

Now that James Brown (R.I.P.) has hung up his crown, legendary stand-up comedian Neil Hamburger has surely earned the title of “The Hardest Working Man In Show Business.” For the past thirty-seven years, Hamburger has logged thousands of shows in all four corners of the world, appearing in engagements everywhere from the prestigious “Fire & Ice” room at the Doubletree Inn in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to the Phoenix Greyhound Park racetrack in Phoenix, AZ. One of Hamburger’s idols and mentors has been one of the celebrity offspring greats and an enigma in the world of popular music, Frank Sinatra Jr. Hamburger says: “Frank Jr. has an intense stage presence unlike any I have ever encountered. Like his father, there is a lifetime of regret, disappointment, and longing in every note that comes out of his mouth—but with a career shattered by unjustified critical malevolence and public indifference, Frank Jr.‘s experiences are drawn from a completely different well. To hell with today’s slovenly singer-songwriter scam-artists! If you’re looking for an amazingly gifted vocalist who puts every ounce of his experience into every word he sings, Sinatra Jr. is your man.” In honor of Frank Jr.‘s birthday, Hamburger has assembled this evening of rare, vintage Frank Jr. TV variety specials and film appearances!

 

 

 

For details visit the Cinefamily website

Posted by Richard Metzger
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01.09.2010
09:31 pm
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